APGG shelled 7,111 FS tons in June 2010, and 8,318 tons in July, bringing our total 2009 crop shelled YTD to 66,015 tons, including seed tons shelled at another location. Given our total handlings of 81,400 tons, we have approximately 13,833 tons remaining, and expect to finish shelling around September 15th.
Also, in way of announcement to our trade partners, we plan to start shelling the 2010 crop, hopefully in early October, with a change to our truckload weights. Like some other suppliers, we will attempt to move all our tote bag lots to 2,200 pounds in each tote bag/ 44,000 pounds in each lot for all grades, except when larger lot sizes are needed in advance. We have been previously packaging Jumbos, Mediums and No.1's in 45,400-pound lots, and Splits in 43,000-pound lots. We trust this change will be happily accepted by everyone.
Also, we are making some capital improvements to our facility. We have added one drying shed for semi trailers, and are purchasing (10) new semi drying trailers. We are also in the process of constructing a new 8,500-ton FS warehouse on our property, complete with another hydraulic truck dumper. And lastly, we will be extending the finished goods warehouse at our shelling plant by an additional 100 feet. We have run as hard as we can with overtime two years in a row and cannot get finished shelling for proper maintenance downtime. So we are adding some items and plan to shell three shifts beginning with the 2010 crop.
APGG had our annual American Institute of Baking (AIB) audit on June 24th and 25th, and scored a Superior at both the Shelling Plant and the Cold Storage. We also have just finished our first British Retail Consortium (BRC) audit on July 18th and 19th. While we have not completed the full certification process, it looks as though we will be certified by them under the new Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) standard within the next (45) days.
There seems to be a difference of opinions concering 2010 crop acres planted to peanuts. USDA reported 1,290,000 acres estimated planted to peanuts on June 30th. However, many industry representatives feel like we may have 100,000 - 125,000 acres less, putting us closer to somewhere between 1,165,000 - 1,190,000 acres. The good news is that we will know the actual number soon.
There is also a "mixed bag" of opinions concerning the expected yields of the upcoming 2010 crop. And this term certainly describes the sparatic rain showers, and the amounts of rain received by them during this growing season. However, we can certainly be much more exact when describing the heat units received. Here in the Southeast, we have received several weeks, dating back in some cases to mid-June, of nothing but 90 - 112 degree days, with nightly lows at no less than 75 degrees. I am attaching a link to the UGA Website showing heat units received over the past three years at http://www.griffin.uga.edu/aemn/cgi-bin/AEMN.pl?site=AAAA&report=de.
No one seems sure just how much the continuation of extreme heat is reducing peanut yields, but most are in agreement that our yields have been hurt some. I am attaching pictures of some fields in a separate message, both dryland and irrigated for you. Some peanut fields look better than they deserve, knowing just how much rain they have recevied. But we also have alot of peanuts which are older than they look. In many fields, the canopy has not "lapped", and dirt is still evident between the rows. We are not accustomed to seeing peanuts in this state much at this late point in our season, especailly if they were planted on time (April 20th - May 31st). You really must come to South Georgia yourself to "feel" the heat and see firsthand the wilt in peanut fields. Our temps are most commonly desribed as "brutal" and "unbearable". If the heat doesn't make you ill, the gnats will!
And as if the world didn't have enough problems, with a year of trying economic times in many countries, we now have the droughts moving prices of other crops higher, making it even tougher for peanuts to compete for acres in 2011. Corn is over $4.00/bu., Wheat is over $8.00/bu., Soybeans are over $10.00/bu., and Cotton is back near $.80/pound. Russia has banned exports of grain from August 15th through December 31st. Drought there has caused widfires which has reportedly killed over (50) people. China recently reported prices of $957.62 per ton for oil crushing stock, which equates to approximately $.43 per pound!
To use a buzzword which has surfaced in many food industries over the past few months, I hope we can continue to grow our consumption in the peanut industry, while creating some "sustainability" for our peanut acres! I think we are currently trailing other crops, and it looks like they have a head start on us for next year.
We still have a few 2009 crop Jumbos available for August/September deliveries. Most shellers are off the market for 2010 crop peanuts, until more can be seen about the upcoming weather and actual acres planted to peanuts. Option contracts are being offered to growers again in the Southeast U.S. at $450 per ton base price this week.
I hope that this report helps you in some way. Let us know if we can assist you.
|
